Celebrate before silence.
Before taking a break from the stage, Love of Lesbian returns to Mexico for a special tour that includes festivals such as Pa'l Nortein addition to several dates in the country. The band celebrates its history, revisits its discography and prepares a necessary hiatus after almost three decades of uninterrupted activity.
With almost 30 years of experience, Love of Lesbian has become one of the most beloved indie bands in Spanish. In the midst of a new visit to Mexico – which will include performances at festivals such as Tecate Pa'l Norte, In addition to several shows in the country, the group also announces a temporary withdrawal from the stage to take a break after years of constant touring. In conversation, the band talks about their creative process, the evolution of their tours, the special relationship they have built with the Mexican public and this moment of pause that, more than a farewell, is a celebration of their history.
Indie Rocks!: You now have a tour of Mexico with several dates, including festivals like Pa'l Norte and Live Latino. Additionally, last year they released the single “La de tu nombre” in collaboration with Eliela. What was the process behind that song like?
Love of Lesbian: You have to excuse me, because many of these collaborations are managed more Santi. In that sense I am a little outside that process. But what I can tell you is how we normally work as a band. Our process has evolved a lot over the years. At first we functioned like any group: locked in a rehearsal room where we all poured out our ideas and from there we built the songs. Over time that changed a lot.
Nowadays we don't even have a rehearsal room. When the time comes to start an album or prepare a tour, we lock ourselves in a studio or a farmhouse for several weeks and work there intensely. The creative part usually begins with Santiwhich composes many ideas from home thanks to technology. Then share them with us and enter Julianthe guitarist, who helps him a lot to develop those ideas. Then the rest of the band joins in, each one contributing what they think can enrich the song. Finally, the producers we usually work with also come into the recording —Ricky Falkner, Santos & Fluren— that finish outlining the sound. It's a pretty individualized process, but it works very well for us.
GO!: Now that you mention the tour, you're about to spend several weeks away from home. Beyond the musical, how do you prepare mentally to go on tour for so long?
LOL: Everything has been a very natural process. Everyone experiences it differently, but in the end it is something that simply happens: if you have to go to Mexico for three weeks, then you go. It is always difficult to leave home and it is also difficult to return. When you're away you miss home and when you're home you miss going on tour. It's a kind of constant contradiction.
Sometimes the mental toll can be even stronger than the physical. For example, for us two weeks on tour are usually the ideal limit. This time we will be away for three weeks, which is a little longer than usual. But everyone looks for their own moments of tranquility: going to the gym, staying alone in the room for a while, or going out to eat at a restaurant. They are small tools to make the trip more bearable. In any case, coming to Mexico is always something nice; we love being here.
GO!: In all these years touring the world, what has changed between the first times you went on tour and what you are experiencing now?
LOL: We have learned to handle it better. When we started coming to Mexico it was like letting go of a dog that has been tied up for a month. Everything was excitement, we wanted to do everything, see everything, go everywhere. It was something very visceral.
Today it is different. Mexico has become almost a second home for us. We repeat hotels, we know the restaurants we want to go to, we even have our favorite places to sit for a while and be quiet. Before everything was new; Now it's still exciting, but in a much more natural way.
Sometimes we say that Mexico is like turning up the color contrast on a television: everything becomes more intense, more vivid. That no longer surprises us like it did at the beginning, but it continues to fascinate us every time we arrive in Mexico City. It is a city that catches you.
GO!: Next year the band will turn 30 years old. Are you preparing something special to celebrate?
LOL: Yes: rest. After almost three decades we have had very small breaks, but they were always breaks to record an album or prepare for a tour. This time we really want to stop and dedicate time to other personal concerns.
The dynamic of this band is like a moving train: it is very difficult to stop it. If you want to stop it, you have to do it for a real time. That's why we have decided to take a break. And a parenthesis means just that: that it opens and that it closes.
The band doesn't break up at all. It's too late to quit, plus we're too happy on stage. But each one wants to explore personal projects: some will make solo albums, others will dedicate themselves to other passions. In my case, for example, I am very interested in gastronomy.
GO!: Then this tour of Mexico becomes even more special for the public.
LOL: Yes, completely. It is a very beautiful moment to celebrate everything we have experienced. We are going to play songs from our latest album, Salvation Armybut also many songs from previous albums that we haven't played in Mexico for a long time.
I don't like to call it goodbye, because it's not. But we do know that we won't be coming for a while, so we want to offer a show that is a celebration: hugging the audience and saying “see you soon.”
GO!: To close the interview: if you had to describe Love of Lesbian in three words—without saying Love of Lesbian—what would they be?
LOL: Honesty, family and friendship.
